Renardo and his brothers are up to their eyeballs in debt, with one last chance to save their merchant business (and their gonads) from the moneylender. The great city of Tebos is holding its Festival of Song in three days’ time, and they have a wagonload of songbirds to sell.

There’s just one large, man-eating problem: the bored sphinx who guards the city’s gates, and her deadly riddle game. Renardo doesn’t even want to be a merchant, but somehow it falls to him to outwit the sphinx. No pressure. All he has to do is come up with an unanswerable riddle.

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Top customer reviews

As Renardo and his brothers queued to present their riddle to the Sphinx who guarded the gates of the city, Tebos, they knew it was imperative they pass through – their livelihood depended on the sale of the songbirds in the wagon.

But when the Sphinx turned her eye on Renardo to present a riddle she couldn’t answer, his nerves almost overcame him. It was only the thought of what would happen if he didn’t better the cynical creature that suddenly gave him his answer…

What a great short story from Aussie author Marina Finlayson. I enjoyed the unique nature of the tale; the ending was tied up nicely. Definitely recommended.

The Family Business is a short story by Australian author, Marina Finlayson. This is a delightful tale that brings together a family business under financial pressure, a loan shark bent on collection, a mountain pass guarded by a sphinx who is bored with formulating riddles, a clever seventh son of a seventh son (sort of), and some algebra. Snappy dialogue, humour and even a few words of wisdom feature in this quick and enjoyable read.

An extremely short story with excellent tongue-in-cheek humour - terrific, quick read while I waited at the dentist's office today. 10/10!! The author could pick this up as a larger novel or tale anytime - hint, hint! :)

Very funny short story about brothers who are trying to get out of debt by selling songbirds in a nearby city that is holding a festival. There's only one thing hindering them, a sphinx blocking the way.

A humourous short story the plot of which is fairly extolled by the other reviewers, so I won't try re-paraphrasing it. Like others, I'm left at the end wanting to read more of the adventures of Renardo and, indeed, the Sphinx. C'mon Marina, give in to your faithful 75c readers' desire for more family business!